The next day, Rosella met up with Lucas, Kumatora, and Duster to catch up on stuff.

"So that's what happened," She said as Kumatora finished filling her in.

"And we've been staging a rebellion ever since," Duster told her.

Rosella frowned. Now she knew what Lucas meant when he said it'd be too dangerous to bring her along.

But before she could keep thinking about it, eerie music started playing, and it was getting closer. A blimp landed in front of them, and all 25 Pig Masks surrounded them.

Rosella jumped back immediately. "What's going on?"

"You're coming with us!" One of the Pig Masks said to Rosella.

Lucas immediately jumped in front of her, stick in hand. "You won't lay a finger on her," he shouted.

"You don't want you or your friends here to get hurt, do you?" Another one said, stepping forward.

"No...but we'll hurt you!" Kumatora said angrily, getting her PSI ready "PK STARSTORM!"

"When did you learn that?!" Duster said, impressed.

As Lucas, Kumatora, Duster, and Boney fought Pig Mask after Pig Mask, Rosella healed the party when they needed it. Together, Lucas, Rosella, Kumatora, Duster, and Boney wiped out all 25 of Pig Masks.

"We have to call the Masked Man!" One of the Pig Masks said nervously.

One of the other Pig Masks called for the Masked Man. "Help! We're getting our hineys kicked!"

"You're all pathetic!" The Masked Man scolded.

Rosella froze when she heard his voice. Her heart started pounding.

The Masked Man slowly made his way out of the ship. Just by looking at him, Rosella could tell that he wasn't someone to be tampered with. But, at the same time, the presence was all too familiar. Rosella took a couple of deep breaths as a panic attack started to kick in.

Lucas rushed to Rosella's side, putting his hands on her shoulders to try and calm her down. "Rose, are you okay?!"

Rosella fell silent as her breathing stabilized.

"What's wrong...?" Lucas asked her.

She let out a barely audible whisper.

"That's Claus..."

This prompted Lucas to look closely for himself.

"No way," Lucas said. "That's Claus?"

"The Claus you know is dead..." The Masked Man uttered cruelly.

"That's not true..." Rosella said, frowning.

The Masked Man didn't think much of Lucas when he looked at him. But when he laid eyes on Rosella, he felt...strange again.

She tried approaching him, but Lucas held her back. "Claus, what happened to you?" She asked.

He didn't know what it was but something about this girl made him want to take a merciful approach. That is if she is willing to submit.

"That doesn't matter," The Masked Man told her, "All that matters now is you."

Rosella's eyes widened in fear. "What...?"

"You've been given a great honor. I suggest you don't waste it. King P wishes to see you. Come with me." The Masked Man explained.

Rosella finally realized she was a target. And she had a pretty good idea why. But she was conflicted! She wanted to see Claus again, but not like this.

"No..." She said nervously.

"Don't be foolish!" The Masked Man sneered, grabbing her arm. "You've been given a great opportunity to escape sadness and oppression! You are just going to give it all up?"

"Claus, stop it! This isn't like you," she yelped.

The Masked Man kept a firm grip on her. "I'll give you one last chance to not make a fool of yourself. You come with me or you will pay the ultimate price."

"Leave her alone," Lucas cried, rushing up to free his childhood friend/crush.

"This is not your affair!" The Masked Man hissed before knocking down Lucas with the hardest punch he could muster.

"Lucas!" Rosella broke free and rushed over to him. "Claus...Don't hit him...you're brothers!"

Suddenly, another memory came back to him.

Lucas and Claus were at Rosella's house. But they seemed to be in some sort of argument.

"I'm playing with Rose!" Lucas yelled.

"Well, I wanna play with her now!" Claus yelled back.

"Guys...why can't we all play together?" Rosella asked.

"No! So just play with me!" Claus yelled.

"No! With me!" Lucas yelled.

Claus pounced on Lucas, and they started brawling.

"Guys! Stop it!" Rosella cried.

Claus eventually got the upper hand and started beating Lucas up.

"Lucas!" Rosella yelped, rushing over to him. "Claus...Don't hit him...you're brothers!"

The Masked Man looked dazed for a moment but he shook his head and quickly got back to his senses.

"Stop it!" The Masked Man angrily demanded, "If you don't submit, I will make you submit!"

Rosella didn't know what to do. Rosella didn't know what to say. All she could do was stand there in silence.

The Masked Man kept staring at her, "Well?"

Kumatora was the next to interfere. "Rose, don't do it—"

But the Masked Man was able to subdue her with ease.

"No, stop!" Rosella cried.

Duster and Boney were about to come help, but the Masked Man aimed his gun arm at Boney.

"NO PLEASE, I'LL GO WITH YOU JUST STOP HURTING MY FRIENDS," Rosella shouted desperately.

The Masked Man turned to face her, his face showing the slightest hint of emotion. Not that anyone could notice it.

"I...I submit..." She said, hanging her head as tears welled up in her eyes.

"No..." Lucas groaned in pain.

Rosella looked at the squad with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry..."

"You made the sensible choice," The Masked Man commented, "And about time too." He led her onto the ship.

As the ship flew off, Lucas stopped to watch it go. Deep down, he had the feeling that he'd lost Rosella. This heavy feeling welled up in his heart but he refused to cry. He wasn't giving up on her or his brother.

"Gee, that's rough buddy," Kumatora said, getting up and putting a hand on Lucas's shoulder.

Boney suddenly barked at the ship.

"What is it, Boney?" Duster asked him.

Boney kept barking at the ship. And luckily for them, it didn't get very far.

Meanwhile, the Masked Man was keeping watch of Rosella, who looked visibly upset about the situation she was in. He couldn't help but keep staring at her. Something about her was just so familiar. But alas, he just sat and watched her cry.

The Masked Man unconsciously sat down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

Rosella stopped crying and blushed when she felt his touch. She looked into his eyes.

"Claus—"

"Don't call me that," he said coldly, his grip on her shoulder getting tighter.

Rosella looked away and frowned. "S-Sorry..."

"Uh, boss?" A Pig Mask said nervously.

"What?!" The Masked Man responded all snappy.

"We might have forgotten to fuel up the blimp before leaving." The Pig Mask admitted.

The Masked Man facepalmed. "Then take us to Thunder Tower and fuel up the blimp there. I'll keep watch of the girl."

He did NOT look happy.

Back with Lucas, Kumatora, Duster, and Boney, they saw the blimp land at the top of Thunder Tower.

"What the?!" Kumatora said in shock. "Wasn't that ship about to leave with Rose?!"

"Hey, this is perfect!" Duster grinned.

Lucas and Kumatora turned to look at him.

"Time for a super stealthy rescue mission!" Duster said excitedly. "And who better to help with stealth matters than I?"

"That's not a bad idea," Lucas answered, impressed.

"Yeah, I didn't think you had it in you," Kumatora teased.

"Hey!" Duster pouted. "Wait, but how do we get there?"

Lucas and Kumatora facepalmed.

Boney started sniffing out Rosella's scent, before barking at the group.

"Boney?" Lucas said. "What is it?"

Boney barked, his head pointing in the direction of where they took Rosella.

Lucas smiled. "That's it! You must have remembered Rose's scent when she came back! Good boy!" He turned to Kumatora and Duster. "Let's follow Boney!"

"Right!" They said in unison.

And the four of them set off to go rescue their friend!